Ode to Charlie

This week at Target I had to leave the baby section, cross the big scary aisle and go to the BOYS section to buy Charlie pajamas. Sigh. I am not ready for him to be that big, but other signs are emerging that he is officially a big kid:

* He pronounces all of his words correctly. For the longest time, it was 'lellow' instead of yellow, and 'myoo-zyoo-vin' instead of museum (I'll give you $5 if you can correctly pronounce it the wrong way - it's a doozy).

* He mostly calls me mom - as opposed to mommy. I swear, I almost get excited when he gets hurt because he: a) wants to snuggle, and b) calls me mommy. I have decided this is a weird emotionally co-dependent form of Munchausen By Proxy.

* He finds all bathroom humor utterly hilarious. Owen was in the tub with him last night, and near the end of the bath Owen pooped in the tub. Charlie shot out of the water like a bullet, and then spent the next 15 minutes making all manner of poop jokes. [For the first time in my life, I felt the need for a daughter.]

Despite this totally unacceptable maturation, he is a dream boat - expect for when he's being a complete pain the a$$. He is very precise, loves to argue and debate the merits of both opinions (and sometimes facts) and hates to be wrong (my DNA). He can also be very sensitive, particularly where Owen is concerned, and stubborn, and loves to build with Legos (Evan's DNA).

Here are a few recent conversations and offhand comments I've found particularly amusing:

Mom, could you please help me separate this tangerine into individual pieces?

***
C: Mom, how come you're always so tired?
A: Well, because your brother has been waking up a lot at night.
C: It's hard work to take care of a baby!

***
Mom, I'm going to find this Lego piece before you because I'm more better at Legos than you. [pause] I'm sorry I said that, mom.

***
I am always going to live in this house with you guys, even when I am a parent. And Owen will live here, too, and we will always be our family.

***
[while playing a game with Evan] Daddy, let's just get concentrating on what we are doing.

***
C as Lego character #1: Somebody just tooted! Was it me?
C as Lego character #2: Yes.
C as Lego character #1: Excuse me!

***
C: Daddy, I want a Transformer autobot that turns into a dinosaur with spiky feet.
E: Oh, yeah? What kind of dinosaur is that?
C: Oh, just something random I made up.

Wearing Evan's pajamas